[hseiken]

Okay, so I feel like I'm maybe not getting it fully, or there's something in my test code that I did wrong and I DO get it but the mismatched code is what's wrong...so that's the disclaimer. Onto the question...

What are the real purposes of Status Counters because it would seem as if they're there to be a confusing built in counter but also can be named but also not really because you have to change a counter with that name but also STATUS COUNTER 3, for instance. And then you have to use both somewhere to get it to actually appear as a status in the pause screen? It seems as though I have to change it twice in order to get it to properly work and further more STATUS COUNTER # doesn't ever seem to be recognized as key words in a way one might expect...


So am I missing something? Is this this a forgot MZX 1.0 feature that just never had the ALT+S menu removed (which is how I accidentally found it...I totally was not looking for a Scooby Doo mystery)?
Thanks for anyone who sheds light on this topic.

[Lachesis]

The best example of this feature in use is the original Zeux games, which use it extensively. First, you either set a status counter 1-6 to a counter name with the Alt+S menu or with the STATUS COUNTER # "name" command (all this does is sets the particular status counter slot to reference that counter). Then, you set the counter to any value except 0. This can be done in either order. The counter name needs to be 14 characters or shorter for it to work. Setting the counter to 0 will hide the counter in the menu until it is set to some non-zero value again.

hseiken, on 22 October 2024 - 01:40 PM, said:

What are the real purposes of Status Counters because it would seem as if they're there to be a confusing built in counter but also can be named but also not really because you have to change a counter with that name but also STATUS COUNTER 3, for instance. And then you have to use both somewhere to get it to actually appear as a status in the pause screen?

Yeah, it is a little silly that the counter name also has to be the display name, but that's how it's been since MZX 1.x. edit: the value you set in Alt+S or with STATUS COUNTER # "name" will at least force case, though, so if your counter is "abcdef", you can make it display as "AbCdEf".

Quote

It seems as though I have to change it twice in order to get it to properly work and further more STATUS COUNTER # doesn't ever seem to be recognized as key words in a way one might expect...

In my testing, I haven't had these problems—it takes effect right away and STATUS COUNTER # "name" is always recognized as a valid command. The first problem might be that if you set the counter to 0 the first time, it won't display.

This post has been edited by Lachesis: 22 October 2024 - 07:54 PM

[hseiken]

Lachesis, on 22 October 2024 - 02:51 PM, said:

The best example of this feature in use is the original Zeux games, which use it extensively. First, you either set a status counter 1-6 to a counter name with the Alt+S menu or with the STATUS COUNTER # "name" command (all this does is sets the particular status counter slot to reference that counter). Then, you set the counter to any value except 0. This can be done in either order. The counter name needs to be 14 characters or shorter for it to work. Setting the counter to 0 will hide the counter in the menu until it is set to some non-zero value again.


Yeah, it is a little silly that the counter name also has to be the display name, but that's how it's been since MZX 1.x. edit: the value you set in Alt+S or with STATUS COUNTER # "name" will at least force case, though, so if your counter is "abcdef", you can make it display as "AbCdEf".


In my testing, I haven't had these problems—it takes effect right away and STATUS COUNTER # "name" is always recognized as a valid command. The first problem might be that if you set the counter to 0 the first time, it won't display.

Similarly, am I not understanding GIVE/TAKE commands? I'm trying to get the BLAST potion effect, which is instant...I've tried to GIVE 1 POTION(S), TAKE 1 POTION(S) etc. and found the stuff like HEALTHS and AMMOS were give and takable...and other potion/ring effects can just be set..so I looked for a BLAST command...found EXPLODE, which makes a robot explode, not do the potion effect. So then I tried to PUT the item directly on the player...also no go...

What am I missing here?

[GetDizzy]

You're missing that potions are not items, they're effects that are applied immediately upon collecting the potion. So you can't meaningfully give or take them. Give and take only work for things that are player state.

As to potion effects from robotic, iirc there's no way to cause the BLAST potion effect programmatically from robotic (except maybe placing one and making the player move onto it?).

IIRC these are the only potion effects that can be called from robotic one way or another:

direct commands:
AVALANCHE
BLIND
FIREWALKER
FREEZETIME
SLOWTIME
WIND

can be easily emulated with existing commands:
HEALTH (give/inc)
POISON (take/dec)
KILL ENEMIES (series of "change" commands)
DETONATE (change bombs explosion)


the following otoh do not have easy robotic equivalents:
BLAST
SUMMON
BANISH
INVINCO


The GIVE and TAKE commands are basically just "inc" and "dec" (because all player status things are counters) except TAKE has an inbuilt condition if the decrease would set below 0.

[Terryn]

The Command Syntax section of the help lists off what is accepted as an item type under the description for [item]. For an even more TL;DR summary, this is basically the plural form of anything with discrete quantities that can be collected by the player and also SCORE/TIME.

As for emulating the BLAST effect, it's usually done with a 1-2 combo of AVALANCHE + CHANGE cNN Boulder pNN to cNN Explosion pNN commands. If you have boulders onboard already, those need to be taken into account when doing this.

[hseiken]

Terryn, on 22 October 2024 - 08:03 PM, said:

The Command Syntax section of the help lists off what is accepted as an item type under the description for [item]. For an even more TL;DR summary, this is basically the plural form of anything with discrete quantities that can be collected by the player and also SCORE/TIME.

As for emulating the BLAST effect, it's usually done with a 1-2 combo of AVALANCHE + CHANGE cNN Boulder pNN to cNN Explosion pNN commands. If you have boulders onboard already, those need to be taken into account when doing this.

I had no idea Explosion was an item!

[hseiken]

Terryn, on 22 October 2024 - 08:03 PM, said:

The Command Syntax section of the help lists off what is accepted as an item type under the description for [item]. For an even more TL;DR summary, this is basically the plural form of anything with discrete quantities that can be collected by the player and also SCORE/TIME.

As for emulating the BLAST effect, it's usually done with a 1-2 combo of AVALANCHE + CHANGE cNN Boulder pNN to cNN Explosion pNN commands. If you have boulders onboard already, those need to be taken into account when doing this.

That tip worked great. Combined with giving the player 8 cyclces of invincibility for the size/state of the explosions, it's pretty convincing looking. Thanks!